Graphic Designer: Saul Bass

You may not have heard of Saul Bass if you have not studied graphic design or film, but you certainly know his work. Bass was a pioneer in the film industry. He was the first to introduce symbolic abstract designs and to utilize narrative sequences as a way to graphically preface a film. While those are notable and influential accomplishments, you may be even more familiar with the corporate logos, or graphic identities, of such corporations as AT&T, Exxon, United Airlines, and Minolta, all of which Bass created. Although he began his career in film and continued to make the occasional title sequence throughout his life, Bass focused the majority of his life's work, specifically his last couple of decades, on his corporate creations.

Bass was born in Bronx, New York, in the 1920s and began taking painting courses at the Art Students League in Manhattan when he was 15. From there he attended Brooklyn College, where he worked with Gyorgy Kepes, who imbued Bass with the Modernist esthetic. Ultimately, Bass moved to Los Angeles in 1948, which is where he remained for the rest of his life. There he began doing newspaper ads for films and was known for defying conventions with his Modernist design principles. This appealed to many people within the film industry and sparked his interest and affiliation with film. However, working with corporations to design their logos was also always a passion of his.

AT&T's logo, the blue globe, was one of Bass' many well-known designs. It may seem simple, but in fact a lot of thought and consideration had to go into the design. The design symbolizes a world encircled by electronic communications. The logo is also made up of carefully delineated "highlight" and "shadow" elements, which give the impression of a 3-dimensional sphere illuminated from a distant source (att.com-history). His other designs are equally simple and meaningful for the companies that they represent, including the United Airlines "U" and the logos for Motorola and Exxon as well. Bass was an extremely innovative and thus successful designer, and his career ended with his passing in 1996, but his designs will remain symbols of corporate America for years to come.

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